J. William Straughan, Jr. to preach at Montreat

July 13 speaker is expert on theology of stewardship

July 9, 2014

the Rev. J. William Straughan

Montreat Conference Center

Lauren Mathews

MONTREAT, N.C.

As part of its Summer Services for the Lord’s Day, Montreat welcomes long-time friend and colleague, the Rev. J. William Straughan, as guest preacher on Sunday, July 13, at 10:30 am in Anderson Auditorium.

Straughan, president of Montreat’s Development Foundation Board, focuses his ministry on the stewardship of giving and came to Montreat’s development office after a career in higher education, the administration of justice, educational publishing, and conserving North America’s wetlands.

His sermon, “Standing on the Promises,” is a call to the Montreat community and people of faith everywhere to see what God has yet in store for God’s church.

Assisting in worship throughout the summer are Katie Voegtli and Eric Koenig, both of whom are students at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Va. Eric Wall and the Montreat Summer Staff Choir offer worship through music, and the Rev. Ann Laird Jones, director of arts ministry, and freelance artist and graphic designer, Johannah Carley Garrity, provide visual art related to the sermon and liturgy.

Childcare is available during the summer morning worship for children six months through kindergarten at the Updike Child Care Center on Texas Road, across from the Anderson Auditorium parking area.

Each Sunday in July, at 9 am in the Walkup Building, Montreat’s theologian-in-residence, the Rev. Richard Boyce of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Charlotte campus, leads a discussion on “For Thine is the Power: A Preacher/Politician’s Reflections on the Stories of David.” Boyce is a third generation Presbyterian minister, having served congregations in Scotland, Virginia, and North Carolina before coming to Union.

“My teaching field is practical theology, my research field, Old Testament,” says Boyce in thinking about the theme for these July classes.

“I'm intensely interested in the intersection between faith and public life, both in my experience as a small town pastor for 20 years and as my town’s mayor for the past eight. I’ve always wanted to do a study on the stories of David with the theme of the use/abuse of power in mind.”